There are many well-known benefits to legalizing marijuana. The easiest benefit to understand is that our prison system is filled with people whose biggest mistake was being involved with marijuana as a drug and not alcohol, or heavy-duty synthetic opioids. But a new study of medical marijuana policies and legalization policies and hospitalizations related to marijuana and opioid use sheds some interesting new potential health benefits for our society. Using data from 1997-2014, researchers studied the numbers of discharges from hospitals specifically related to marijuana and opioid dependence or abuse, as well as overdoses related to the latter.
Hospitalizations related to marijuana and OPR increased sharply by 300% on average in all states. Medical marijuana legalization was associated with 23% (p = 0.008) and 13% (p = 0.025) reductions in hospitalizations related to opioid dependence or abuse and OPR overdose, respectively; lagged effects were observed after policy implementation. The operation of medical marijuana dispensaries had no independent impacts on OPR-related hospitalizations. Medical marijuana polices had no associations with marijuana-related hospitalizations
The results here are positive in a number of ways. Reduction in opioid-related hospital visits is clearly a huge plus considering the epidemic of opioid our abuse this country is facing—you know it’s bad when even conservative states are acknowledging it. Equally as important is that there seems to be no increase in new marijuana-related hospital issues, which could be used to sway people against the legalization of marijuana. NBC News spoke with a Dr. Esther Choo who works as a professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health about these findings.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that battling the opioid epidemic will require a multi-pronged approach and a good deal of creativity," Choo, who was not involved in the study, said in an email. "Could increased liberalization of marijuana be part of the solution? It seems plausible."
However, she said, "there is still much we need to understand about the mechanisms through which marijuana policy may affect opioid use and harms."
Attorney General and racist relic Jeff Sessions has indicated that he wants to use his newfound power to reconstitute our failed war on drugs, specifically marijuana. The Republican Party’s policy plans can be summed up like this: if it doesn’t work the first time … or the second time … or the third time … punish more middle class and low-income people until there’s no one left to complain.